Inventory control is particularly challenging to manufacturers in the boating industry and marine parts suppliers because boats are produced in a variety of boat designs and configurations. Unlike the automotive industry, for example, in which comparatively few designs are used to produce a very large number of automobiles, in the boat production industry most boat designs are used to produce relatively few boats. Marine parts suppliers must maintain a vast inventory of parts in a variety of sizes and configurations to fit the different boat designs. Storing boat parts can require a large warehouse or storage facility to accommodate not only the different parts, but the different sizes of each part.
Thru-hull fittings, sometimes referred to as “thru-hulls,” are an example of a marine part used in most boat designs to provide a drain hole or intake hole through the hull. Thru-hulls generally include a tube attached to a mushroom shaped head on the outboard end of the tube and a threaded portion on the inboard end for attachment to a shut-off valve inside of the hull. Thru-hulls are made in a large variety of sizes and configurations to fit the variety of boat designs. Conventional thru-hulls are cast and therefore require a mold for each part.